Home Insurance

What Is Personal Property Coverage?

Personal property coverage is the type of insurance that can help protect the items in your home, like your furniture. Your belongings are likely worth much more than you might think, and if they're damaged or lost, personal property coverage could help you cover the cost of replacing them.

Video Transcript

Announcer (voiceover): Insurance for Your Personal Property

Announcer (voiceover): The personal property coverage of your homeowners insurance could help protect you in the event that your personal belongings are damaged or destroyed by a covered loss.

Announcer (voiceover): But, consider this: In the event that you do experience a loss, do you know exactly what you own. . . or, how much it's all worth? And do you know how your insurance coverage works?

Announcer (voiceover): First, before you experience a loss, it's a good idea to take inventory of your personal property, complete with pictures and the purchase price of each item. This can help simplify the process of filing a claim.

Announcer (voiceover): Then, make sure you know what type of personal property coverage you have: A "replacement cost" policy typically pays the dollar amount it would take to buy a new item at the time of a claim, while an "actual cash value" policy pays the cost to repair or replace minus depreciation.

Announcer (voiceover): Finally, you should know that personal property coverage usually has certain limits on what it will pay to replace an item, or a category of items. If you have possessions that are worth more than the limits set in your policy, you may want to look into higher limits or additional coverage to better protect them.

Announcer (voiceover): A conversation with an insurance agent may be helpful as you consider your coverage limits.

Announcer (voiceover): Knowing what you own and understanding how your personal property coverage works can give you comfort in the event of a loss.

Determining The Value Of Your Belongings.

Your home is full of things you love. Taking the time to figure out how much your belongings are worth can help you choose the amount of personal property coverage you need. Walk around your home and note the items that you spent a lot of money on. Taking pictures of these items and keeping receipts and other documents can help you keep track of the value of your stuff. Allstate's Digital Locker
is a great tool to help you do just that.

Replacing Your Belongings.

If the personal property listed on your homeowners policy needs to be replaced because of a covered loss, there are two different ways your insurance could help:

Actual cash valueYour belongings are typically covered at fair market value. In other words, replacement cost minus depreciation. For example, your items could be covered for the amount you'd get if you sold them at a yard sale or an online auction website.

Replacement cost coverageWith replacement cost coverage, your insured personal property is typically covered for what it would cost to purchase them new at the time of the claim

Your Allstate agent can help you understand the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost coverage. He or she can also answer any questions you may have about what types of personal property your policy covers.

What Is Scheduled Personal Property?

Scheduled personal property is optional protection you can add to your homeowners policy to cover high-value items. Though personal property coverage helps protect the majority of your belongings, most insurance companies set limits on certain items, like jewelry. For example, your policy may cover a single piece of jewelry that's worth up to $1,000. If you own a $100 necklace that is damaged and needs to be replaced, you're in good shape. If you own a $10,000 necklace, scheduled personal property can help you insure it for more than the $1,000 limit.

Find an agent to discuss how to get scheduled personal property coverage and understand your policy's limits.